Tag Archives: bikes

Ok, let’s get a few things straight here. First off, upon seeing teaser images of this bike (the original reason for this entire blog post, let me remind you) I understood two things: one, that Damien Hirst had designed a bike decorated with a butterfly theme, and second, that that bike was created in the name of promoting Lance’s causes and would thus perpetuate those ideals. Now, as a result of this very brief viewing of such very small images, I really didn’t see fit to work out exactly how Hirst had designed the exterior pattern for the bike; it was entirely possible that it was a sticker applique, or some other form of additive design technology. They honestly don’t look like real butterflies at first glance, so why would a single teaser image and my knowledge of who Lance Armstrong is compel me to question the moral integrity of the entire design work? All I know was that the geometric arrangement of the organic pieces on an overall form that is significant to me was very pleasing- in fact inspiring. That someone had not merely given the bike a “cool paint job”, but instead perhaps meticulously thought out its geometry as an object and tailored an exterior to fit. To me, that kind of thought, is good design and art.
It wasn’t until “Alan” brought it to my attention, albeit harshly criticising, that the bike was in fact covered in thousands upon thousands of dead butterflies. Now, I am left to wish it were merely designed with decals and appliques.
As I said before, I support the message that Hirst is trying to convey- this idea that for those of us living, our death will be an inconceivable brunt of a realization, something too many of us cannot even begin to fathom. I do not, however, commend his means for achieving it. I will never support the sacrifice of any life for the sake of art. Nor do I think that Lance had any idea what he was truly getting himself into- I imagine his “team” put together another team of artist to create bikes to be auctioned off for his cause and that was the best knowledge he had, aside from some last minute approval. You can find the rest of those bikes here (none of the others feature animal parts): http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/stages/scharf/

Teaser images are being released of the intricately adorned butterfly Trek, designed by Hirst. In theory, Lance will gallantly ride down the Champs Ellysees atop this gorgeous beast after winning his eighth tour. We’ll see if he pulls it out.

I lust after this bike somethin’ fierce. Lordy. I know I just bought my dream of all dreams bike, but goodness my, would if I could own a beaut such as this…

Finals week. As usual, my only harsh due dates occur on St. Patrick’s Day and the morning thereafter. I foresee no green beer, unless it is parked next to my drawing easel and flanked by copious amounts of Tazo Black Awake. In preemptive celebration, we enjoyed Boondock Saints on Sunday eve and sipped on Guinness, not for its flavor, but merely the symbology.

I’m taking a pseudo-blogging-hiatus (but obviously not a hyphen-atus; no, ours is a sordid affair that defies all grammatical logic). Why not head on over to my flickr and peruse the recently unearthed items in my fruitless attempt to clear off more space on External Hard Drive #3?

Or, you could just lurk, as I do, at any of the wonderful blogs I’ve noted to the left. A few are friends, but the majority are happened upon blips of intelligence/art/fun/wit/”yum”/etc.

I feel slightly sheepish in admitting that I (not so secretly) lust after one version of this bike (light canary yellow? pale melon pink? I’m on the fence): scoff at its hipster-mashupdom all you want, you’d have a hard time picturing a more graceful pairing of geometry, function, and hue (well, at least one that would provide transport at infinite miles to the gallon).

Besides, anytime you advertise something by photographing it with three-dimensional letter forms, you’ll instantly get my attention. Do it well, and I might even agree with what you’re saying.

I have only a handful of cameras that do well in the winter; the limited number of daylight hours coupled with the generally low light conditions makes for some very “foggy” exposures. Spring cannot come soon enough.

Adding to the list of cameras I’m “saving” to purchase; an Olympus Pen F; a half-frame single lens reflex camera. Essentially, as is the case with all half-frame cameras, two exposures are placed on a single 1″ negative. People have always sought out ways to democratize photography and make it more affordable. In the early 30’s (and much more commonly in the 60’s), the half-frame camera was the best way to do this, doubling the number of pictures on a single roll of 35mm film. More than anything, I find it to be an interesting way to create unexpected dyptics.

The Traveler III is coming together nicely. I even bought it a nice spring scarf while I was walking around town last week, meandering toward the bus station after the white beast broke down for the third time over a bad ground that’s causing the ECU to fail. Repeatedly. Usually at the worst possible times (my birthday while visiting the DMV to renew my license on the other side of town and with a laundry list of other errands to do before 6pm, while on a shotgun trip to Portland and in a hurry to get back home).

I also picked up two vintage Viewmaster reels: Venice and Mary Poppins, to add to the collection I’ve had since I was pretty little. Stereographic images always boggle my mind. The jackpot would be stumbling upon the Atomic Tests in 3d series; those have been in my wish list folder for almost a year.

Yet another week spent busy and all over the board. Here’s a little roundup of the few bits I gathered this week.

I always try to remind myself that life is simple; when things get too busy or worrisome, when I feel weighed down. But it get’s hard. I forget where I stumbled upon this, but I’ve had it posted on my wordpad and open on my desktop ever since:

The Buddha’s Five Remembrances (Thich Nhat Hanh’s version)

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

John Cleese, on creative energy: “People make an awful mistake by starting where the energy isn’t.”

More can be found here. (For those of you a little out of the loop, do a search for the “Ministry of Silly Walks”.)

There’s something pretty inspiring about what Michael Sailstorfer is doing with underwater typography.

And finally, I’ve decided not only to join a bike gang, but I will do my darndest to seek out and join the ranks of this bike gang. I just hope I’m tough enough.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful. We spent the day lounging in, then decided to get active, out, and enjoy the day. We rode into town and then spent the rest of the daylight and dusk hours riding around with Matt’s brother and nephew in tow, parking at a soggy field in south town’s Crystal Lake Park. While the boys ran around and tossed a frisbee, I laid like a lizard soaking up what was left of the sunlight on a bleacher bench. It got cold fast, so we rode back into downtown for coffee and a heart-shaped pink shortbread from New Morning Bakery. I spent the rest of the evening finishing up work for the week and we worked out ways to mount a tripod that would work for my many cameras on the handlebars of my bike- the only hazards being of course (heaven forbid) a crash with a camera mounted, and the difficulty of grabbing a polaroid after it ejected and stowing it while riding. Anything would be easier than the messanger repositioning and unbuckling, rummaging for camera, case-unsnapping, lens-uncapping, stowing of case and lens, camera dawning, focusing, and then shooting that I had to carry out for Sunday’s film photo of the day..